Welcome to Common Gunsense

I hope this blog will provoke some thoughtful reflection about the issue of guns and gun violence. I am passionate about the issue and would love to change some misperceptions and the culture of gun violence in America by sharing with readers words, photos, videos and clips from articles to promote common sense about gun issues. Many of you will agree with me- some will not. I am only one person but one among many who think it's time to do something about this national problem. The views expressed by me in this blog do not represent any group with which I am associated but are rather my own personal opinions and thoughts.------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

And don't get me started about Representative Michele Bachmann who comes from my home state of Minnesota. She just couldn't resist having her own side rally yesterday on the Washington Mall. If the T.V. cameras are there, you can count on Michele Bachmann to show up. She has used her own references to violence and continues to do so. Bachmann once famously said: " "I want people in Minnesota armed and dangerous on this issue of the energy tax because we need to fight back." " What are we to make of these veiled and not so veiled references to violence coming from national elected leaders. Ladies and Gentlemen, these are people who want to "restore honor" to our country.

How can these three individuals talk about honor on the anniversary of Martin Luther King's "I Have a Dream" speech? Did they forget that Dr. King was shot to death for his beliefs? Did they forget that Abraham Lincoln was shot to death after having won the Civil War and abolishing slavery? These two men surely were honorable and will long be remembered as such.

Will we remember Palin, Bachmann and Beck in the way we remember Martin Luther King and Abraham Lincoln? Will these be the people who lead our country to move forward honorably and peacefully to solve the large problems that face us? Will these be the people who lead us to economic stability? Will these be the people who lead the way to prevent gun violence in our country while "preaching" about the Second Amendment and at the same time opposing measures to stop the shootings? Remember that Senate candidate Sharon Angle ( Nevada) wants "Second Amendment remedies" available in case things don't go the way she and the tea partiers want them to go.

Up is down and vice verse. The political world is becoming stranger every day. August has once again turned ugly. If we want to work together, restore honor, and preach non-violence, I don't think the people we want to listen to are Sarah Palin, Michele Bachmann and Glenn Beck. These are people who have "preached" against an Islamic community center near "ground zero" and other intolerance towards Muslims. And now they invoke God, Christianity and references to violence to take our country back for themselves. If worship of the Second Amendment, religion and race are becoming a litmus test for elected leaders, we are surely moving further back in time to days that I thought were over.

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Comments are allowed but are moderated for civility and decency. My blog is intended to change public opinion about the gun debate and all readers will not agree with me. No comments that demean, debase, attack, call names, or are generally impolite, rude and offensive will be published. In general, comments that are "snarky", mean, overly aggressive or harassing will not be published. Keep the language clean and respectful. Anonymous commenters are not allowed on this blog. Thanks to my readers for participating.